


R is for Riona Shepard

by AniDragon



Series: Riona Shepard [1]
Category: Mass Effect
Genre: Alcohol, Alphabet Meme, Multi, Shepard Siblings, Shepard Twins, mild drug use
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-02-22
Updated: 2014-03-20
Packaged: 2018-01-13 09:57:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 4
Words: 4,109
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1221976
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AniDragon/pseuds/AniDragon
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>An alphabet fic set in Rio Shepard's timeline. Will be mostly Shrios, with some past!Shenko, along with some gen.</p><p>Fics will be varying lengths, but will mostly be around 1k words. Not in any sort of chronological order.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. A is for Assassin

**A is for Assassin**

Shepard didn’t believe in “love at first sight”.

As such, she really couldn’t explain what she felt when she first saw Thane Krios, the assassin she was trying to recruit.

There was admiration, of course. The way he moved was like a dancer, all liquid grace and deadly accuracy. She felt like she couldn’t even blink, for fear that she would miss something beautiful. There was probably attraction there, too, although she wouldn’t realise it until much later.

When he put down Nassana, laying her down on her desk and crossing her arms over her chest, then backed up and began to pray, she found herself completely enraptured. She didn’t think she’d be able to take her eyes off of him if her life depended on it.

“Impressive. You certainly know how to make an entrance,” Garrus commented, breaking her out of trance. She let out a breathe she hadn’t realised she’d been holding.

She took another deep breath, then approached the assassin slowly. He hadn’t moved, and still had his hands together in prayer.

“I was hoping to talk to you.”

“I apologise. But prayers for the wicked must not be forsaken.”

She could respect that mindset. She wasn’t sure which gods he was praying to, but she wasn’t a stranger to faith. Still... she couldn’t see herself wasting a prayer for Nassana Dantius.

“Do you really think she’s worth it?” She questioned.

“Not for her,” he replied, the words and his voice making her heart skip a beat, “For me. The measure of an individual can be difficult to discern by action alone. Take you, for instance. All this destruction... Chaos...” He circled around the desk; Shepard’s eyes never left him, “I was curious to see how far you’d go to find me... Well, here I am.”

“How did you know I was coming at all?”

“I didn’t. Not until you marched in the front door and started shooting. Nassana had become paranoid. You saw the strength of her guard force. She believed one of her sisters would kill her. You were a valuable distraction.”

Shepard debated for a moment if she should be insulted at being used, but the thought was temporary. If anyone was to be used as bait, better it be a trained soldier, “Let’s cut to the chase. I want to recruit you for a mission.”

“Indeed.”

“You’re familiar with the Collectors?”

He gave her a brief, curious glance, before turning his back to her to face the window, “By reputation.”

“They’re abducting whole human colonies. Freedom’s Progress was their handiwork.”

He was silent for a moment. Likely taking in the information, “I see.”

“I’m going after them.”

He looked over his shoulder at her, “Attacking the Collectors would require passing through the Omega 4 relay. No ship has ever returned from doing so.”

Shepard nodded. The concern was legitimate. But if he couldn’t accept the odds... “They told me it was impossible to get to Illos, too.”

“A fair point.” She saw the ghost of a grin before he turned towards the window again, “You’ve built a career on performing the impossible.”

She stepped forward so that she could see his face. He was the first Drell she’d met, so she was obviously no expert on their expressions, but... She thought he looked somber, contemplating. She’d originally thought he was looking out the window, but he didn’t seem to be focusing on anything in particular.

“This was to be my last job,” he continued, then hesitated for only a second before giving her a brief glance, “I’m dying. Low survival odds don’t concern me. The abduction of your colonists does.”

Shepard felt like she’d been punched. She’d only just met the man; She knew, logically, that she should have been taking this news strategically. In the back of her mind, she knew her concern should be on how this would affect the mission. Was he contagious? Would he die before they even got a chance to face the collectors? Would this affect his performance at all? (Not likely, given the way she’d seen him move)

“You’re dying? I hadn’t heard that,” she finally managed to get out, “Is there anything we can do?”

“Giving me this opportunity is enough. The universe is a dark place. I’m trying to make it brighter before I die.” He shook his head, then faced her, “Many innocents died today. I wasn’t fast enough, and they suffered. I must atone for that.” He offered his hand, and Shepard took it, receiving a firm handshake, “I will work for you, Shepard. No charge.”

She nodded, “Welcome to the team. I’ll give you our ship’s location. Gather what you need, and meet us there.”

As he walked out of the room, Shepard finally felt like she’d returned to the waking world. She shook her head to clear it, then looked over to Garrus and Miranda, who were both watching her curiously.

“What?” She demanded.

Garrus put his gun away, an amused expression on his face, “I’ve never seen you let your guard down near a dangerous individual so easily.”

She shrugged, her neck warm, “He had plenty of opportunity to take us out before we even got to Nassana. And he obviously trusted us enough to let his guard down as well. Besides, you two had my back.”

“Uh huh.” He crossed his arms.

“I’m a trusting person, Garrus,” she countered, “You know that. It’s worked out well for me so far. Now would you quit giving me that look so we can get out of here?”

Love at first sight didn't make any sense. So just what _was_ it that she was feeling?


	2. B is for Brother

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kaidan had previously only met Rio Shepard’s twin brother, Warren, once before.

Kaidan had previously only met Rio Shepard’s twin brother, Warren, once before. It had been at her funeral, so their conversation had been fairly short and professional. They’d exchanged condolences, but in the midst of his grief, the other man hadn’t made much of an impression on him.

He hadn’t been expecting to meet him again when he went to Rio’s apartment for supper, but it was a pleasant enough surprise.

“Hey Shepard, I’m starving!” He greeted teasingly as he came in, “What do you got?”

He heard her snort, and she rounded the corner from the kitchen to meet him, “We’re heading out, Kaidan.”

“I’m so tired of Apollo’s.” He waved her off, heading into the kitchen, “I’m gonna cook...” He trailed off when he spotted Warren, “Oh, hi.”

The other man smiled, then held out his hand, “Major Alenko, right? Don’t worry, I’ll be out of your hair soon, Rio and I just lost track of time.”

“Have you met my brother before?” Rio asked, coming up behind him, then leaning against the counter, “Kaidan, Warren. Warren, Kaidan.”

“Yeah. I mean...” Kaidan shook Warren hand, “We met once, at... Well, at your funeral.”

“Ouch!” She winced, “Hell of a first impression. Now, what were you saying about cooking? Are you serious?”

“I’ll have you know I’m an _excellent_ cook,” he said, “And Warren, you’re free to stick around if you don’t have somewhere else to be.”

Warren glanced at Rio, who shrugged, “I don’t mind,” she said, “Hell, if we get food poisoning, it’ll be nice to have company.”

Kaidan rolled his eyes, then headed over to the fridge to see what was available.

“So what are we having,” Rio asked, “Canadian delicacy of some sort?”

“Uhh, sure,” Kaidan looked over the food, “We have... beef, we have bacon, we have beer,” he took three beers out from the fridge and passed them around, “The foods of my people.”

The three of them made small talk as Kaidan prepared the steaks, and he couldn’t help but steal a few glances at Warren. He hadn’t been in a state of mind to notice it the last time they’d met, but the other man was handsome. He didn’t look much like Rio – they shared the same red hair and grey-blue eyes, but that was about it. Warren had darker skin – he recalled Rio mentioning their Inuit heritage, once – and a more square jaw with a neatly trimmed beard and mustache. There were two scars on his face: a smaller one near his right eye, and on the left a longer one that ran from his brow down to the corner of his mouth. The scars might have turned someone else off, but Kaidan had been a soldier long enough to know that the story behind them was likely to only make him respect the man more.

“You’re burning the garlic,” Rio pointed out, and he caught the teasing tone in her voice.

“Sorry!” He moved the pan off the heat, just barely managing to keep himself from blushing. When he caught Rio’s eyes, she gave him a knowing smirk.

_Good job_ , he berated himself, _Get caught staring at your Commander-slash-ex-girlfriend’s brother, very smart._

They kept their conversation light; None of them wanted to think about the war they were currently taking a break from. They talked about what drew them to military life, and Kaidan was surprised to learn that unlike Rio, military command hadn’t been Warren’s first choice.

“I actually wanted to be a doctor or nurse, at first,” he confessed, “I joined the military to pay for college, and ended up with a commission as a field medic. It wasn’t long before I realised that I wasn’t cut out for medicine, though. But my biotics were impressive, and my commander recognised that I had some leadership qualities, and pushed for N7 training.”

“Command seems to run in the family,” Kaidan agreed, “Your mother’s a Rear Admiral now, isn’t she?”

“Yeah,” Warren nodded, “And our cousin Rachel is N7 as well. There’s definitely something in the Shepard bloodline.”

“Rachel would say it’s Viking genes,” Rio teased, “I might be inclined to agree with her, actually.”

Once they’d eaten, and the evening wore down, Warren announced his leave.

“I’ve got an early morning meeting,” he explained, “But thanks for supper. It was great.”

Kaidan allowed himself a lingering glance as Warren left. To her credit, Rio waited until the door closed before she laughed at him.

“You know he’s single.”

“Ma’am?” He all but squeaked, turning back to her in mild panic.

She crossed her arms and smirked, “He’s single, he’s gay, and he checked you out almost as often as you checked _him_ out. I’m just saying.”

“That’s, um... That’s not weird?” He glanced back at the door, then back at her, “That I’m interested in your brother?”

She shrugged, “This would surprisingly not be the first time my brother has dated an ex-boyfriend of mine. Shall I get you his extra-net address?”

“I didn’t, I mean...” Kaidan tried to think of a smooth way to respond, then just sighed, “Yeah, okay.”

“I invited him to the party, too,” she said, opening her omni tool and typing in a few commands. His own omni tool pinged to confirm he’d received her message, “I don’t mind if you hook up in my apartment, just don’t do anything in the main bedroom, okay?”

This time, Kaidan _did_ blush, “Yes ma’am.”


	3. C is for Cerberus

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shepard and Miranda have a talk about Cerberus.

**C is for Cerberus**

Though Shepard understood the need to go through debriefings, she still hated them. They were long, tedious, and lately far more personal than she ever wanted to share with the Illusive Man.

She knew that Jack especially would hate for most of the mission on Pragia to make it into the report. As such, Shepard kept it very brief.

Miranda stared at her from across the desk, waving a datapad at her, “Shepard, I understand that you might not want to reveal too much personal information in these reports, but... Surely you can elaborate a _little_ bit more than this?”

Shepard sighed, “It was a _very_ personal mission. I included everything that would be relevant to the Illusive Man. I’ve got the information we gathered from the facility, an ID on the merc band we fought, as well as who hired them. What more do you need?”

“Why did you let this ‘Aresh’ go?” 

“I could tell he wasn’t capable of doing any real damage,” Shepard answered, “His goal was to re-open the facility, but he was clearly disorganised. Jack wanted to take him out, but I talked her out of it. It was a judgement call, but I think sparing him was better for her psych than killing him would have been.”

Miranda nodded, “Not the decision I would have made, but I’ll trust your judgement on it. I’m also curious... Why did you take Krios with you on this mission? You already had Jack available as a powerful biotic, and you’re usually better at picking a well rounded team. Why not take Vakarian, or Professor Solus?”

Shepard fidgeted, “We weren’t expecting trouble, to be honest. That was a bad call on my end, and I’ll own it.”

“Fair enough, but... That doesn’t really answer my question.”

Shepard bit her lip, not meeting her eyes. She wasn’t sure she wanted to talk about this to _anyone_ yet, let alone Miranda, who reported directly to the Illusive Man, “Well... We’ve only just recruited Thane. I wanted to see how well he’d take orders.” There. That made sense.

Miranda frowned, “Shepard, don’t forget that I was with you when you recruited him. I saw the way you looked at him. If you’re infatuated with him, you don’t have to hide it from me.”

Shepard blushed, looking up in surprise, “Pardon?”

Miranda raised an eyebrow, “Are you saying you’re not? Because it certainly seemed as if you were undressing him with your eyes at Dantius Towers.”

“I wasn’t...” She stuttered, “Okay, I was _admiring_ him, and the way he fought, yes, but objectively. And anyway, even if I _were_ infatuated, it’s really none of the Illusive Man’s business.”

“You know, believe it or not, but I don’t report _everything_ to him.”

Shepard snorted.

Miranda narrowed her eyes, “I tell him things that are important to the mission. For example, I’d tell him that you have excellent rapport with Dr. Chakwas. I don’t have to tell him that the two of you stayed up late having drinks the other night. It’s going to be the same with Krios. The Illusive Man doesn’t need to know if you’re infatuated with him or not, just if you work well with him.”

“Then why are you asking?”

“A couple of reasons,” Miranda answered, “The first is that I want to make sure this won’t affect your performance. Your records show that you were able to work well with Kaidan Alenko while you were in a relationship with him, and even after Horizon, you were surprisingly resilient, even if you were a bit more aggressive for a few days. But Krios is a much more... complex individual than Kaidan Alenko.”

Shepard pressed her lips together tightly. She _really_ wasn’t ready to talk about Kaidan, “What’s the other reason?”

Miranda blinked in surprise, “It’s not obvious? Shepard, you helped me make sure my sister was safe. You encouraged me to talk to her, so that she’d know I exist. I can never repay you enough for that, but I can at least _try_ and return the favour. So, I’m going to give you a word of advice: Krios has been looking at you in much the same way you’ve been looking at him. Make of that what you will.”

Shepard’s eyes widened, “Wait... You’re actually encouraging me to fraternise with my subordinate? With my _alien_ subordinate?”

“Cerberus doesn’t have any regs against fraternisation, unlike the Alliance,” Miranda informed her, “While we do see why the rule exists, we’re not going to punish anyone for following their hearts. As for him being an alien, I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again. Cerberus isn’t anti alien, Shepard. We look out for human interests, but not at the cost of other sapient life.”

Shepard stared hard at Miranda, “You really do believe that, don’t you?”

“I do,” Miranda answered easily, “I’m not saying that there aren’t xenophobic people _in_ Cerberus, and I’m not saying there aren’t cells that have broken away and adopted more extremist views, but they’re not the views of the whole organisation.”

Shepard sighed and stood up, “Miranda, I trust you. You’ve proven yourself to be a good person, and good ally. And you’re incredibly intelligent, so I don’t know _how_ you’re not seeing the whole picture about Cerberus. I think... I really, honestly think that The Illusive Man is manipulating us – all of us, you included. He’s deliberately only showing us the faces of Cerberus he wants us to see.”

Miranda started shaking her head, but Shepard interrupted.

“Let me finish. This mission that we’re on, stopping the Collectors, it’s important. And I’m going to _do_ this mission, no matter who’s funding it. That doesn’t mean I’m going to ignore everything else that Cerberus has done, and it _definitely_ doesn’t mean that I’m going to trust The Illusive Man. And the thing is, you’re an amazing asset to Cerberus. You’re brilliant and talented. So you can bet that The Illusive Man is going to do his best to keep you on his side. Hiding things from you falls well into the realm of possibility.”

Miranda looked down at her desk, “Shepard...” She sighed, “You’re dismissed.”

Shepard nodded, leaving the XO’s office with a frown.

She couldn’t know if she’d gotten through to Miranda, but... At least she’d planted that seed of doubt.

As for the other subject they’d discussed... Shepard glanced over in the general direction of life support, and flushed. No. Even if Thane _was_ interested, it was _way_ too soon to try and move on from Kaidan.


	4. D is for Drunk

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> SPOILERS FOR ME3 IN THIS CHAPTER. DO NOT GO DOWN FURTHER IF YOU DON'T WANT TO SEE THEM.
> 
> \-----
> 
> Shepard knows there are probably better ways to cope with her nerves regarding Thane's funeral the following day. But when the bartender described the aptly named 'Weeping Heart' drink to her... Well, it seemed appropriate at the time.

“You are _really_ bad at flirting,” Shepard told Garrus as they each sat down with their respective drinks at the Casino bar.

“That’s not very fair, you didn’t exactly give me much warning before making me talk to that girl,” he defended himself.

“‘I’ve got this big gun back at my place I’d like to show you?’” She quoted before taking a large sip of her martini.

Garrus froze, his eyes widening a fraction, “Oh spirits, I just realised what that sounds like. Would you believe I was talking about an _actual_ gun?”

Shepard laughed, “From anyone else I wouldn’t. But from you, it doesn’t surprise me one bit. Still, I’d thought you’d recovered well enough. What happened after I left you alone?”

“Let’s not talk about that,” he said, waving her off, “It’s not important anyway; it’s not like I came here to pick up girls.”

“Right, you came to...” She trailed off, and Garrus frowned as she looked down at her drink.

“Came to what?” He asked, concerned.

“Nothing.” She shook her head, “Just... This is hitting me quicker than I expected it to.”

He raised a browplate. He only just now noticed that her glass was already more than halfway empty – she must have drunk quite a bit before he’d rejoined her. Still... “That’s impressive, considering you can hold down Ryncol. What’s _in_ that drink, anyway?”

She stared at the drink some more, before finally answering, her voice so low he almost didn’t hear her, “Purple.”

He glanced down at the drink, which was a most definitely not purple, “That looks green to me, Shepard.”

She smiled, but he’d learned enough about human facial expressions that he could tell it wasn’t a happy smile, “I thought it would help. But it’s just making things worse.” Her smile fell, and her expression changed to one of panic, “Garrus, I’m not ready for tomorrow.”

He winced. He should have guessed that this was what was bothering her. Thane’s funeral tomorrow was half the reason he’d invited her out tonight, to help get her mind off of it, “I’m not very good at this stuff, but... Do you want to talk about it?”

“No...” She started, but then tilted her head up at him, “Yes? God, I don’t know.”

“Talking about it now might make tomorrow easier. Or... would you rather be alone?” Maybe that was why she’d tried to get him a date, earlier...

“I thought I did, but it was a stupid idea,” she muttered before finishing off her drink, “Being alone sucks.”

Garrus reached over to put a hand on her shoulder, “Shepard... Have you taken _any_ time at all to grieve?”

She shrugged, “A little bit? I spent some time with Kolyat, after it happened, but that was more for him than for me... Hackett actually offered me a grievance period, you know, but I had to refuse it. There was just too much to do, too much to prepare. Then he ordered the Normandy in for maintenance, practically the next day, too soon to be a coincidence.”

“But you put that off, too, to go help the Quarians,” he pointed out.

“Couldn’t leave Tali alone to deal with the Geth _and_ the Admiralty Board.”

“Yeah, I guess we couldn’t.” He let himself chuckle a bit at that, but then grew serious, “And then I suppose we couldn’t ignore the Ex-Cerberus scientists, or the Ardat-Yakshi monastery, or Sanctuary....”

“Or Thessia,” Shepard reminded him, “Any of those missions could have been a disaster if we had taken the maintenance time sooner. Hell, Thessia was _already_ a disaster as it was...” She raised her glass, then frowned when she saw it was empty, “Damn it.”

Garrus frowned when she waved down the bartender and asked for another ‘Weeping Heart’.

“Are you sure that’s a good idea?” He asked in concern, “You were just saying that the drink was making things worst...”

“I don’t care,” she snapped, her voice cracking, “I just... It feels wrong without him, but this is the closest I can get to feeling like he’s here.”

To his surprise and mild horror, she brought her hands up to hide her face, and her shoulders began to shake as a sob escaped her.

It wasn’t the first time Garrus had seen a human cry, but it was definitely the first time he’d seen _Shepard_ cry. He knew, logically, that she was _capable_ of it, of course. All sapient species could cry, though not all of them did it with tears. But if Shepard had ever cried since the time he’d met her, she’d done so privately. For her to break down like this in public...

The bartender came back with her drink, then, but Garrus held his hand up to stop him, “Just what the hell is in that?”

The man noticed Shepard and sighed, “Look, she signed the waiver that’s standard for all hallucinogenic drinks. We’re not responsible if she can’t handle it.”

Garrus’s eyes widened, “ _Hallucinogenic_?” He’d never even known Shepard to use _stims_. 

The bartended rolled his eyes, “Relax, it’s just Drell skin venom. Really mild, even mixed with alcohol.”

“Drell...? Shit.” Garrus shook his head, “Okay look, could you just bring her out some water instead?”

“Sure, as long as I get paid for _this_ drink.”

Garrus handed him his credit chit, then turned his attention back to Shepard, “Hey... Talk to me.”

Shepard sniffled, then wiped her eyes, “You must think I’m an idiot.”

“Never,” he reassured her, “But I _do_ think that we should get you home so you can rest.” The bartender came back then, returning his credit chit and handing the glass of water over. Garrus pushed it towards Shepard, “Here, drink this.”

She drank the water slowly, avoiding his gaze even after she finished, “I suppose I should explain...”

“I can figure it out,” he assured her, “You don’t owe me an explanation.” He’d known that Drell skin could cause hallucinations, had even teased Shepard about getting high from kissing Thane, once, which had caused her to blush as red as her hair.

“It really isn’t about the high,” she continued anyway, “Not that there’s much of one anyway. I just wanted a reminder, I guess. Of my time with him.”

“There are worst ways of coping.”

“Not very many.” She finally looked at him, her eyes still red, but focused, “Come on, let’s get out of here.”

They left the casino and walked back to her apartment in silence. When they arrived he hesitated, “Do you need some company? I can call Tali or Cortez... Or your brother, maybe?”

She shook her head, “I’ll be fine. I should really get some sleep anyway. But... You’ll be there tomorrow, right?”

He nodded, “Absolutely. I’ve got your back, Shepard. Just take care of yourself in the meantime.”

“I will, don’t worry,” she agreed, giving him a brave smile and then heading inside.


End file.
